Samsung debuts new Exynos 4 Quad processor, tips it to be in “the next Galaxy”

[Brendan Hugo]

So, are you salivating yet? Samsung's announcement for “the next Galaxy” is only days away, and while some legitimate leaks have surfaced, we still don't know a whole lot. Now we do know two things for certain: it is a phone, and it will have one seriously awesome quad-core processor—the Exynos 4 Quad. And I quote,

“The application processor is a crucial element in providing our customers with a PC-like experience on mobile devices. Samsung’s next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multi-tasking features, thanks to Exynos 4 Quad’s powerful performance and efficient energy management technology,” said Hankil Yoon, Senior Vice President of Product Strategy Team, Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.

So there you have it. The processor, already in production, will run at 1.4GHz, and is based on the ARM CORTEX A9 quad-core. The chips papa, the Exynos 4 Dual, ran on a 45nm architecture, whereas this one will run on 32nm, but with identical pin setup. This allows manufacturers to start using the 12mm x 12mm x 1.37mm chip right away, without having to overhaul mainboard designs.

The big question is, how will it stack up against the Tegra 3 and the Snapdragon S4? I can't tell you that, unfortunately, but what I can tell you is that is comes ready for the fight. Along with some highly touted power-saving features, the chip comes with the ability to play and record 1080p at 30fps via built-in HDMI 1.4. This fact may hint at one heck of an awesome camera in the next Galaxy, or it may simply be a feature for future devices. Then again, 30fps 1080p recording was specifically mentioned. So what do you say, can we expect a 1080p recorder/playback in the next Galaxy smartphone? For that matter, it was also mentioned that this chip can do 3D as well. So has Samsung been lying to us about the whole “no 3d” thing, are we going to see 1080p 3D @30fps? I doubt it, but I kinda hope so.

[Samsung via Business Wire]

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[saratoga]

The Snapdragon S4 is probably going to crush it in most things people care about, although it will be interesting to see what battery life is like. The move to 4 slower cores verses 2 faster ones in the S4 may give them an opportunity for some power savings.

[The DarkSide]

Battery life is the deciding factor IMO. I can't believe the droid RAZR MAXX is the ONLY phone that does battery life right,...still.

[nathan]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Battery life is the deciding factor IMO. I can't believe the droid RAZR MAXX is the ONLY phone that does battery life right,...still.

Exynos 4 Quad has cores clocked at various speeds going as low as 200 mhz for one of the cores. They have a new dynamic power system that will shut down cores when not needed (so for idle, texting and most apps other than ultra 3D gaming).

There is a rumor going around that the American version might have the s4 processor for lte capability but the Korean model will have this Exynos processor and lte network connectivity. To me this rumor doesn't really make sense ... Samsung would be able to make their processor compatible with lte but not with other lte frequencies?

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by nathan

Exynos 4 Quad has cores clocked at various speeds going as low as 200 mhz for one of the cores. They have a new dynamic power system that will shut down cores when not needed (so for idle, texting and most apps other than ultra 3D gaming).

Sure, but all ARM systems do this. Even the iPod 1G 11 years ago would lower the main clock and turn off the second core when it wasn't needed.

Whats interesting is if they've done a better job at optimizing their power consumption then Qualcomm, or if their 32nm HKMG has lower leakage then the TSMC's 28nm. The use of a different process and 4 weak cores veres 2 strong cores certainly gives them room to differentiate their design, and while Qualcomm's designs are usually faster then the Cortex series, they also tend to be a little more power hungry.

Originally Posted by nathan

There is a rumor going around that the American version might have the s4 processor for lte capability but the Korean model will have this Exynos processor and lte network connectivity. To me this rumor doesn't really make sense ... Samsung would be able to make their processor compatible with lte but not with other lte frequencies?

Yeah, not sure whats up with that. Either its BS or else maybe they were having trouble producing enough chips.